Fight for the Empire….Oliver Mtukudzi’s daughters at loggerheads as they compete for father’s musical legacy

The late Oliver Mtukudzi’s daughters Selmor and Samantha have crossed swords in their bid to take their late father’s musical crown.

Selmor is daughter to Dr Tuku’s first and former wife Melody Murape while Samantha is Daisy’s offspring, the late singer’s second wife.

Selmor and Samantha now lead different sets of the Black Spirits following the demise of the founder on January 23 this year.

Black Spirits is a team of instrumentalists and vocalists previously led by the late national hero, Tuku. In its over 40 years of existence, it employed tens, if not hundreds of artistes.

Having two Black Spirits camps has further strained relations between the two sisters and their respective backers. It has also split the music industry.

You need to be careful when you get a call to support the Black Spirits. There is Black Spirits-G and Black Spirits-H. The ‘G’ is for Gogo Daisy, Samantha’s mother, while ‘H’ is for Selmor’s group, meaning Harare. It refers to her apparent massive support base in the capital,” one artist told the Sunday Mail.

There was drama at Tuku’s tribute concert as Samantha and her step-sisters Selmor and Sandra dodged each other backstage.

The sisters “accidentally” met backstage, they hardly spent time talking. It was tense!

Samantha performed first with her Black Spirits which is made up of youthful artistes that worked with Dr Tuku during his last days.

But revellers tormented Samatha by chanting Selmor’s name as soon as she started singing the first line of her opening track. The rowdy ones even attempted to throw missiles.
Samantha failed to rise to the occasion.

She was only bailed out by Alexio, Tocky Vibes and Ashton “Mbeu” Nyahora when they intermittently joined her on stage.

Then came Selmor with another Black Spirits set consisting of veterans like percussion player/dancer/backing vocalist Picky Kasamba, bass guitarist Never Mpofu and her sister Sandra.